Generally, vehicle turn-tables are comprised of a rotatable disk plate which is positioned in front of the entrance and exit of a multi-story parking garage.
To prevent accidents, (e.g., contact between the car and the garage) the vehicle must be moved onto a fixed position on the turn-table. Vehicle positioning is generally carried out by the driver. Accordingly, such positioning requires driving experience and skill without which the vehicle is liable to be inaccurately positioned, e.g., center line of the vehicle is moved onto the turn-table not perpendicular or parallel to the center line of the turn-table. Therefore, guide lines are generally provided on the turn-table to aid the driver in the positioning of the vehicle. The guide lines are designed so that they are wide enough to accommodate different types of vehicles which have different wheel bases and/or different wheel widths. However, the need to accommodate different size vehicles presents a margin for driver error and prevents the driver from accurately positioning the wheels, even though the vehicle is driven generally within the guide lines. Accordingly, the vehicle may be inaccurately positioned, which in turn can cause the vehicle to not be secured in its position. Moreover, the movement of rubber tires contacting and turning on the guide lines can produce an undesirable frictional sound.
Earlier applications of the present inventor directed to vehicle conveyers for multi-story parking garages are described in Japanese Patent Application No. 1-53900, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/462,176, filed Jan. 8, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,745 and U.S. Ser. No. 07/511,418, filed Apr. 20, 1990, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,263. These applications disclose devices capable of conveying a vehicle between the entrance and exit and parking space of a multi-story parking garage. In such automated garages, cars are moved using a shifter which moves on tracks and which includes catcher arms which move and carry each of the wheels. The turn-table of the present invention could be used in combination with such multi-story parking garages.